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D. H. CHAMBERLAIN. ELEVATOR FOR BUILDINGS, 6w.

YNQQBs GL. I Patented 0m. 27, 1868.

" itlnitt :I fittin r th ii game DEXTER H. CHAMBERLAIN, OF WEST ROXBURY,MASSACHUSETTS.

' Letters Patent No. 83,461, dated 0mm 27, 1868.

ELEVATOR r03 BUILDINGS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all wliom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DEXTER H. CHAMBERLAIN, of West-Roxbury, in thecounty of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certainImprovements in Elevators for Buildings, 8tc., of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view of an elevator with my improvementsapplied thereto.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section through the centre of thesame, representing the position of my improvements when the carriage isin motion.

Figure 3 is a vertical section representing the position of myimprovements when they prevent the descent of the carriage on theparting of the fall.

Figure 4, detail to be referred to.

In the ordinary construction of elevators for raising and loweringmerchandise in buildings, the arrestingdevices act directly upon theguide or way upon which the platform slides, which construction isobjectionable for the following reasons, viz:

Owing to the guide or way being lubricated to relieve friction inhoisting, the arresters or stops do not act the instant of the partingof the fall, and before they are thrown in contact with the guide, theweight has acquired sufficient momentum to overcome the friction appliedby the stops, thus thrusting the post and slide out of position, andfrequently breaking the stops and cross head to which they are attached,thereby allowing the carriage to be precipitated to the bottom,endangering the lives of those upon it.

To provide a means (reliable at all times) for arresting the descentofthe carriage immediately on the parting of the fall, is the object of myinvention, which consists in a pair of rods, ropes, or chains passingdown verticallythrough the cross-head of the carriage, near its outerends, each .rod, or its equivalent, being independent of the guide orway, and being forcibly pressed by a wedge (either serrated or not) atthe instant of the parting of the 'fall, the degree of friction thuscreated being sufficient to overcome the gravity of the ascending ormomentum of the descending weight, thereby securely suspending it,without danger to the life or limb of persons, or of damage to goodsthereon.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which I. have carried it out.

In the said drawings,A represents the floorof a building; B B, verticalposts proceeding up along the walls of the enclosed space in which thecarriage is to move. Secured to the inner face of each of these posts isa guide or way, a, upon which slide the crossl head 0 at the top andplatform D at the bottom of the carriage. b b are iron rods whichconnectth platform with the cross-head, thus serving to brace and steadyit when carrying its load.

Across the top of the posts B B extends a horizontal beam E, througheach end of which, and each end of the cross-head O and platformD,passes an upright circular rod of metal, 0, the lower end of each rodbeing secured by a screw-nut to the under side of the floor A.

. At each end of the cross-head 0, where the vertical rod 0 passesthrough it, is formed an inclined recess for the reception of acorrespondingly-shaped block or wedge, d, the outer surface of which,next the circular rod 0, is concave and serrated, (see fig. 4,) so as tofit snugly around and securely hold on to it, when the wedge is broughtin contact with it on the breaking of the fall F, by mechanism new to be.described.

G is a vertical pin passing through the centre of the cross-head G, theupper end of the pin being enlarged and provided with an eye, 0, intowhich is fastened the lower end of the fall F. The lower end of the pinextends down below the bottom of the cross-head, and has a nut, f,screwed thereon, and the lower portion of the cross-head O is providedwith an enlarged.

circular recess, g, around the pin, for the reception of a spiralspring, h, the upper end of which presses;

against the under side of this recess, while the lower .end of thespring rests upon a washer, t, surrounding the shank of the pin G, andresting upon the inner ends, It, of two arms or levers, H, bent in theform shown, and pivoted, at l, on screws passing through holes m, toallow the levers to rock slightly thereon.

The inner ends of the arms or levers H unite around and enclose thevertical pin G, While the outer-end of each of these ievers isbifurcated so as to fit into a notch, 12, formed in the bottom of eachof the wedges (Z. (See figs. 2, 3, and 4. I

It will thus be seen, from the foregoing description, that when thecarriage is being raised or being lowered by the application of power tothe fall, the inner ends of the levers H are pressed up by the screw-nutthereby compressing the spring it, while the outer ends ofsthese leversH are rocked downward, carrying with them the wedges cl into theposition seen in fig. 2, the friction between the serrated sin-faces ofthe wedges d and the cylindrical surfaces of the rods 0 being 'relievcd,and thus offering no resistance to the upward or downwardpassage of theelevator.

Should, however, the fall F part, the spring his immediately liberated,and by its recoil pressesdown the inner ends of the lovers H,consequently throwiiig up their outer ends so as to raise the wedgesinto the position seen in fig. 3, the outward pressure on tho wedgescreating suificient friction between their scrrated'surfaces and thoseof'the rods as to instantaneously overcome the momentum or gravity ofthe load upon the elevator, and preclude the possibility of its beingprecipitated below. By my improved construction, the guide or way a isnot subjected to it lateral l strain incident towthe old construction;and the derangement and breakage of the parts, which have heretoforecaused loss of life and limb and destruction of goods, are therebyavoided.

Claims.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The rods 0 c, or their equivalents in combination with the Wedges d (I,or their equivalents, and the cross-head O, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

Also, the levers H H, spring h, and pin G, in combinetion' with theWedges d (l and the rods 0 c, for the v purpose described.

DEXTER H. CHAMBERLAIN.- Witnesses N. W. STEARNS, L. E. BATCHELLER.

